Daniel Thomas Kelly (born 31 October 1977 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) is an Australian former

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. Known for his unconventional style, the four-time judo Olympian formerly competed in the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC) between 2014 and 2018.

Background and judo career

Kelly began competing in judo when he was 7 and competed at his first Australian Championships when he was 13. He made the junior national team in 1994 where he competed at the Junior World Championships and went on to make the senior national team two years later. Kelly has been Australian Champion on nine occasions. Kelly is the only Judo competitor to have been selected to fight for Australia in four different Olympic games. He most recently competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in the -100 kg event. He was the Judo coach for the Australian team at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Japan Olympics.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Kelly made his professional

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

debut in July 2006. He remained out of competition for the next six and a half years due to judo commitments.

Australian Fighting Championship and local MMA

Kelly returned to the sport in December 2012. Over the next eight months, he improved his record to 5 wins with no losses. Kelly again returned to action in the Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) in May 2014, at AFC 9, defeating Ben Kelleher via second round submission. Kelly was twice slated to fight Steven Kennedy for the vacant AFC middleweight belt in 2013 at AFC 7 and 2014 at AFC 10, but was forced to withdraw due to The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia commitments in 2013 and due to injury in 2014.

The Ultimate Fighter

In December 2013, it was announced that Kelly was selected as one of the fighters to represent Australia for the upcoming The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia. Kelly was defeated by eventual middleweight runner-up

Sheldon Westcott Sheldon Westcott (born August 10, 1985) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is also known for being a contestant and finalist on The Ultimate Fighter for Te ...

via first round submission.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

2014

Kelly made his UFC debut against

Luke Zachrich Luke Zachrich (born December 19, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist and professional boxer who formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship A professional mixed martial arts competitor since ...

on 8 November 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 55 ''UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 55'') was a mixed martial arts event held at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on November 8, 2014. Background This event was the fourth event t ...

. Kelly was victorious, winning by submission due to a kimura. In his second bout for the promotion, Kelly faced Patrick Walsh on 14 February 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 60 ''UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 60'') was a mixed martial arts event held on February 14, 2015, at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Background The event was the third that the UFC has hosted a ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

2015

Kelly faced

Sam Alvey Samuel William Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Alvey has also formerly com ...

on 10 May 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 65 ''UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 65'') was a mixed martial arts event held on 10 May 2015 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Adelaide, South Australia. Background The event was the first that the promot ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Kelly was expected to face Ricardo Abreu on 15 November 2015 at

UFC 193 ''UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm'' was a mixed martial arts event held on 14 November 2015, at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was the most attended UFC event in the history of the company at the time, with 56,214 people filling th ...

. However, Abreu pulled out of the fight in late September and was replaced by Steve Montgomery. Kelly won the fight by unanimous decision.

2016

Kelly faced Antônio Carlos Júnior on 20 March 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 85 ''UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 85'') was a mixed martial arts event held on March 20, 2016, at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Background The event was the second that t ...

. Kelly won the bout via TKO in the third round. Kelly next faced

Chris Camozzi Christopher Allen Camozzi (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional Glory kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Camozzi has formerly competed in th ...

on 27 November 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 101 ''UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 101'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 27, 2016, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Bac ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

2017

Kelly faced

Rashad Evans Rashad Anton Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist. Evans started his professional career in 2003, he was the Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 and is also a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and a 2 ...

on 4 March 2017 at

UFC 209 ''UFC 209: Woodley vs. Thompson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 4, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Background The event wa ...

. He won the back-and-forth fight by split decision. Kelly faced

Derek Brunson Derek Brunson (born January 4, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of September 5, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC middleweight ran ...

on 11 June 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 110 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 110'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on 11 June 2017 at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. Background The event was ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Kelly faced Elias Theodorou on 19 November 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

2018

Kelly faced

Tom Breese Tom Breese (born 26 September 1991) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). A professional competitor since 2010, he formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

on 27 May 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 130 ''UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 130'' or ''UFC Liverpool'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the UFC that was held on May 27, 2018, at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. Background The event w ...

. He lost the fight via technical knock out in round one. Kelly became a free agent after the fight.

Championships and accomplishments

Judo

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

- Judo, 9th place (U/81 kg) **

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

- Judo, 7th place (U/90 kg) **

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

- Judo, 21st place (U/90 kg) **

- Judo, 17th place (U/100 kg)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:33 ,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England , - , - , Loss , align=center, 13–3 , Elias Theodorou , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–2 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:16 ,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand , , - , Win , align=center, 13–1 ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Antônio Carlos Júnior , TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:36 ,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Steve Montgomery , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:49 ,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Patrick Walsh , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a consolidated city and county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. Broomfield has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The Broomfield populati ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 ,

, Submission (kimura) , UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:27 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , , Ben Kelleher , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Australian Fighting Championship 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:41 ,

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Bor Bratovž , KO (punch) , Australian Fighting Championship 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:42 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Daniel Way , Submission (armbar) , Shamrock Events: NOM 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Chris Birch , Submission (rear naked choke) , Australian Fighting Championship 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:36 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Kym Robinson , Submission (rear naked choke) , MMA Down Under 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:17 , Findon, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Fabio Galeb , Decision (unanimous) , Australian Fighting Championship 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Ross Dallow , TKO (thrown from the ring) , Dojo KO - Second Elimination , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, Australia ,

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 ,

Quebec City, Quebec Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is th ...

, Canada ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Dan 1977 births Living people Sportspeople from Melbourne Sportsmen from Victoria (Australia) Australian male judoka Olympic judoka of Australia Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Judoka at the 2000 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2008 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics Australian male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Background and judo career

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Australian Fighting Championship and local MMA

The Ultimate Fighter

Ultimate Fighting Championship

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Championships and accomplishments

Judo

Mixed martial arts record

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

See also

References

External links